This week marks 20 years since one of the most memorable scandals in UK television history, when Major Charles Ingram bagged the top prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.
Of course, it proved to be memorable for all the wrong reasons, as Charles and his wife Diana were later found guilty of cheating their way to the top prize in what became known as the “coughing scandal”.
Ingram is one of only 18 contestants to ever reach the £1m question in UK Millionaire history, and just one of seven to scoop the top prize – even though he was never actually paid the £1m.
To mark two decades since he filmed his appearance on the show, we’re putting your trivia to the test to see how many of this £1m questions you’d be able to answer correctly...
1. Which county cricket side is based at Chester-le-Street?
A) Warwickshire
B) Durham
C) Northants
D) Leicestershire
Peter Lee was presented with this when he became the first person to make it to the £1m question, but he ultimately failed to win the prize.
2. Which monarch was known as “the wisest fool in Christendom”?
A) James I
B) Charles I
C) Edward I
D) Henry I
Ten months later, Kate Heusser also made it all the way to question 15, but did not know the answer.
3. Which king was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine?
A) Henry I
B) Henry II
C) Richard I
D) Henry V
Judith Keppel became the first UK Millionaire after she was presented with this question in November 2000. Nowadays, she’s one of the experts on BBC quiz show Eggheads.
4. Oberon is the satellite of which planet?
A) Mercury
B) Neptune
C) Uranus
D) Mars
John Randall made it to question 15 just days after Judith Keppel, but did not manage to repeat her success.
5. In 1912, former US President Theodore Roosevelt was a candidate for which political party?
A) Bull Moose
B) Bull Dog
C) Bull Elephant
D) Bull Frog
Steve Devlin missed out on becoming the second UK Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? champ when he decided not to answer this question in January 2001.
6. Tomas Masaryk was the first president of which country?
A) Czechoslovakia
B) Poland
C) Hungary
D) Yugoslavia
Mike Pomfrey was presented with this question in March 2001, but ultimately only went home £500,000 richer.
7. If you planted the seeds of Quercus robur, what would grow?
A) Trees
B) Flowers
C) Vegetables
D) Grain
This was the question the show’s second top winner, David Edwards, had to answer less than a year later in April 2001. David had already triumphed on Mastermind and was a Mensa member, so it must be said that his win wasn’t the most surprising ever.
8. A number one followed by 100 zeros is known by what name?
A) Googol
B) Megatron
C) Gigabit
D) Nanomole
Anyone who watched the ITV drama Quiz will know the answer to this one, as winner Charles Ingram was later accused of cheating his way to the top, alongside his wife and a third accomplice.
9. Which scientific unit is named after an Italian nobleman?
A) Pascal
B) Ohm
C) Volt
D) Hertz
This was the answer to future winner Robert Brydges’ £1m question, which took place just 11 days after the infamous Charles Ingram “coughing” scandal (we can only imagine how closely producers must have been watching him). The retired banker was even in the audience the night Ingram appeared on the show.
10. What was the occupation of the composer Borodin?
A) Naval captain
B) Chemist
C) Lawyer
D) Chef
Peter Spyrides was presented with this question in October 2001, but did not take home the top prize.
11. Which of these is a butterfly, not a moth?
A) Mother Shipton
B) Red Underwing
C) Burnished Brass
D) Speckled Wood
This was the question Roger Walker was presented with when he reached the final question in February 2002, but ultimately decided not to take the plunge.
12. Which of these is not one of the American Triple Crown horse races?
A) Arlington Million
B) Belmont Stakes
C) Kentucky Derby
D) Preakness Stakes
It was almost three years after Robert Brydges’ triumph that Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? celebrated another £1m win, which came when Pat Gibson answered this question in April 2004. In 2018, he was ranked the number one quizzer in the world.
13. Who was the first man to travel into space twice?
A) Vladimir Titov
B) Michael Collins
C) Gus Grissom
D) Yuri Gagarin
Laurence Llewllyn-Bowen and his wife Jackie became the first star pairing to reach the £1m question during one of the show’s celebrity specials in February 2006, but they did not walk away with the top prize.
14. Which boxer was famous for striking the gong in the introduction to J Arthur Rank films?
A) Bombardier Billy Welles
B) Freddie Mills
C) Terry Spinks
D) Don Cockell
Ingram Wilcox (another Ingram!) took the £1m after answering this question in September 2006. His other TV appearances include Countdown, Brain Of Britain, Fifteen To One and Mastermind, but this was his first time winning.
15. Which of these UK prime ministers never served as foreign secretary?
A) Winston Churchill
B) Alex Douglas-Home
C) Anthony Eden
D) Harold Macmillan
John Robinson became the first contestant to reach the final question on the revived version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in March 2019, but did not take home the top prize.
16. Which of these people was born the same year as Queen Elizabeth II?
A) Audrey Hepburn
B) Judy Garland
C) Julie Andrews
D) Marilyn Monroe
Six months later, Davyth Fear also made it all the way to this £1m question –although the seventh UK Millionaire would not be made until another eight months later.
17. In the history of motor sport, which of these iconic races was held first?
A) Le Mans 24 Hours
B) Monaco Grand Prix
C) Indy 500
D) Isle of Man TT
Andrew Townsley walked away with £500,000 when he opted not to answer the final question in May 2020.
18. In 1718, which pirate died in battle off the coast of what is now North Carolina?
A) Calico Jack,
B) Blackbeard
C) Bartholomew Roberts
D) Captain Kidd
Donald Fear became the first person in 14 years to scoop the top prize on UK Millionaire in 2020 when he got this question correct.
19. Which of these U.S. Presidents appeared on the television series Laugh-In?
A) Lyndon Johnson
B) Richard Nixon
C) Jimmy Carter
D) Gerald Ford
This is the $1m question answered by the first US winner on the American version of the show, John Carpenter, in 1999.
20. Although he and his wife never touched a light switch for fear of being shocked, who was the first president to have electricity in the White House?
A) Ulysses S Grant
B) Benjamin Harrison
C) Chester A. Arthur
D) Andrew Johnson
Chef David Chang became the first celebrity to win the US edition of the quiz show in 2020 and donated the $1m prize to restaurant workers affected by the Covid pandemic.
ANSWERS
1=B, 2=A, 3=B, 4=C, 5=A, 6=A, 7=A, 8=A, 9=C, 10=B, 11=D, 12=A, 13=C, 14=A, 15=A, 16=D, 17=D, 18=B, 19=B, 20=B
READ MORE:
ITV's Quiz Is The Fascinating And Farcical True Story Of 'The Cough' And The Millionaire Major
From Severed Toes To Glitter Canons – 12 Facts You Didn't Know About Quiz, The Ingrams And The Coughing Scandal
Charles And Diana Ingram's Defence Lawyer Insists Guilty Verdict Was A 'Miscarriage Of Justice'